Silo Capacity Calculator.
Convert required storage tonnage into silo volume, cell count, footprint and aeration airflow. Indicative planning output only — designed to make a silo and grain-handling RFQ comparable.
How do you calculate grain silo capacity?
Capacity in tonnes = usable silo volume (m³) × bulk density (t/m³). Usable volume is the cylinder (π r² × eaves height) plus the top grain cone, plus the hopper cone on hopper-bottom silos, multiplied by a realistic fill factor of roughly 90–95%.
- Volume: π × (diameter ÷ 2)² × eaves height, plus grain cone at ~28° repose.
- Indicative bulk density: wheat 0.78, maize 0.72, soybean 0.75, sunflower 0.42 t/m³.
- Silo count = required tonnage ÷ capacity per silo, rounded up, usually +1 cell for segregation.
- Aeration planning range: 0.05–0.15 m³/min per tonne for cooling duty.
- Indicative sizing only — structural and aeration design require a qualified engineer.
Estimate only — not a quotation. Outputs are indicative planning ranges based on the values you enter and typical commercial benchmarks. Real pricing, specifications and lead times vary by country, site conditions and supplier, and are confirmed only in written offers collected through a private RFQ.
Storage inputs
Sets an indicative bulk density
Confirm against local test weight
Peak intake plus purchased volume, over the holding period
Practical fill vs theoretical volume
0.05–0.15 cooling duty; higher for in-bin drying
Used for indicative filling time per silo
Indicative only. Values exclude foundations, structural wind and seismic loading, drying, dust control and safety systems. Confirm all figures with a qualified engineer before tender.
Turn this estimate into a qualified project
SeedMatchGroup is a supplier-neutral, human-led platform. We do not manufacture or resell equipment — we help buyers specify the project, review relevant suppliers privately and compare the written offers received. Supplier participation and timing are not guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
Understanding the values
What each choice in this calculator means, and how the options differ in practice.
- Bulk density
- Crops differ in weight per volume — a tonne of wheat fills less space than a tonne of light seed. Use the commodity's actual bulk density, not a generic figure.
- Cone and aeration allowance
- Usable capacity is less than geometric volume: the filling cone, aeration ducts and freeboard all take space. Plan storage on usable volume.
Illustrative project summary
1 ha multi-span tomato house
A new commercial entrant builds a first multi-span block with fertigation, insect screens and a basic climate computer.
1 ha · Multi-span polyhouse · Tomatoes
Indicative full greenhouse project CAPEX
USD 575K – USD 1.56M
Illustration only, not a real project or quotation. This is the structure, equipment and site-works budget for the example greenhouse, not the price of this calculator’s individual system, seeds or inputs, and not a result calculated from your entries. Excludes land, permits, packhouse, financing costs and working capital.
Based on the published commercial greenhouse cost benchmark. Written offers require a private project review; commercial projects start from USD 250K.
What can change the result?
This is a preliminary planning estimate based on the values you entered. The variables below usually move the outcome most, and should be confirmed with an agronomist, engineer and supplier offers before final design.
- Crop and cultivar — water, climate and support requirements differ per crop
- Growing area and layout — hectares alone are not a greenhouse specification
- Local climate: temperature, humidity, radiation and wind exposure
- Growing system (soil, substrate, hydroponic) and plant density
Questions this calculator answers
Typical buyer and investor searches this tool is built for, including the markets where we run the most commercial projects.
- commercial agriculture project cost planning per hectare for a commercial project
- commercial agriculture project cost planning for a 2-hectare project — India
- commercial agriculture project cost planning: indicative planning ranges — Kenya
- commercial agriculture project cost planning benchmarks for investors — Saudi Arabia
- commercial agriculture project cost planning under local market conditions — Mexico
- commercial agriculture project cost planning — what to specify in a supplier RFQ
Method and decision path
How to use this result in a commercial project
Use the result to test scope and compare scenarios. It is not a design, agronomic prescription, financing offer or supplier quotation.
1. Enter site evidence
Replace defaults with measured area, climate, water, energy, crop and commercial assumptions.
2. Test scenarios
Change one assumption at a time and record the effect on capacity, cost, demand or return.
3. Validate the duty
Ask the relevant agronomist, engineer or financial adviser to check the inputs and constraints.
4. Prepare a private RFQ
Carry the confirmed scope into a human-reviewed brief so written offers can be compared on the same basis.
Final specifications, performance, prices, supplier participation and timing depend on the site and written supplier responses; none is guaranteed by this calculator.
Tell us five things and we route your brief
These fields decide which specialist and which suppliers see your request. Nothing is submitted here — your answers are carried into the private RFQ.
The USD 250K project threshold applies to capital projects. Recurring fertilizer programmes are reviewed by shipment size, annual volume and sourcing fit.
A sourcing specialist shortlists reviewed providers for your scope and returns comparable offers. Supplier details stay with us — all communication runs through SeedMatchGroup.
Estimate only: these figures are indicative planning numbers, not a quotation. Final pricing, specifications and lead times come from supplier offers after your brief is reviewed.
Plan the project around the numbers
A calculator output is a starting point. Pair it with the planning guides below to align timeline, irrigation, budget and risk before you launch an RFQ.
One private brief, specialist review, private supplier research and a like-for-like comparison.
Month-by-month schedule from concept to first harvest across 9 stages.
Design principles for drip, pivot, fertigation and filtration on commercial projects.
How CAPEX, working capital and operating cost drive the project business case.
The ten most expensive planning and procurement pitfalls — and how to avoid them.
Procurement answers behind these numbers
A model output only holds if the scope, contract route and delivery terms match the assumptions. These reference answers cover the commercial decisions that move the figure.
- Turnkey EPC vs separate equipment packages
- What belongs in a greenhouse equipment specification
- Normal payment milestones in equipment contracts
- Which Incoterms to use for greenhouse and irrigation equipment
- How long a commercial greenhouse takes from order to handover
- What is normally the owner's scope on a greenhouse project
Move silo capacity calculator into a structured RFQ
Editorial · not a sales pitchCalculator outputs are indicative. When your numbers stabilise, a supplier-neutral RFQ turns those estimates into a consistent brief for comparing the written offers that participating suppliers provide.
The facts a complete, supplier-neutral request on this topic includes. Use it as a checklist before submitting.
- Seasonal intake volume (t) and campaign length (days)
- Required throughput (t/h) for intake, cleaning, drying and bagging
- Commodity, bulk density and incoming moisture vs target moisture
- Storage split: flat store, steel silos, hopper cells — and required capacity
- Handling scope: conveyors, elevators, aeration, dust control, weighbridge
- Seed-specific scope: grading, treating, coating, bagging and lot traceability
- Utilities available: power, fuel for drying, civil works responsibility
- Site layout with available footprint
- Intake schedule and commodity analysis
Opens the RFQ Builder scoped as a grain/seed processing package so suppliers quote throughput, storage and handling together. You stay in control — nothing is submitted until you review and confirm.
Free to submit · supplier-neutral · reviewed by a specialist before any supplier is contacted.
Running these numbers for a client project?
Agronomists, greenhouse and irrigation consultants use this calculator for feasibility, then hand the project to us for supplier shortlisting, RFQ preparation and quote comparison. You stay client-facing and we work through you.
Your client relationship stays with you — we work through you and never contact your client unless you ask.
Indicative only
- This tool is indicative only.
- It is not financial advice.
- It is not agronomic advice.
- It is not engineering design.
- Final numbers require supplier, agronomist, engineer and local regulatory review.
SeedMatch Group is an independent agricultural project sourcing and RFQ platform. We are not a farm, seed producer, fertilizer manufacturer, irrigation manufacturer, greenhouse builder, EPC contractor, lender or financial advisor. Supplier and project partner outreach is handled only after a commercial project brief is reviewed.
Supplier and manufacturer listings are provided for research, transparency and discovery only. SeedMatch Group does not provide automatic buyer-supplier introductions. Every agriculture project request is reviewed manually by the SeedMatch project team, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.